With the Government's recent proposals on reforming human
rights law and the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham during
July and August, it seems a fitting opportunity to consider the
theme of human rights in sport and, in particular, how human rights
considerations factor into the staging of large sporting
events.
As a company set up by the Government to perform a range of
public functions, a lot of what the Organising Committee for the
B2022 games does will be covered by the Human Rights Act 1998.
However, beyond this, the Organising Committee has taken steps to
understand and comply with the principles that apply to private
companies under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights (the 'UNGPs') – a set of non-binding
guidelines for states and companies to prevent, address and remedy
human rights breaches and impacts.
